Triple H on how WWE influenced Connor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather

By Aaron Varble -
September 1, 2017

Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather’s box office gold mind might not go down as one of the best boxing matches of all time, but it will certainly be remembered as one of the biggest. Dana White is touting a 6.5 million pay-per-view buy rate. Of course, that number is probably exaggerated as Dave Meltzer noted the official numbers aren’t close to being out yet. But with the number of people who tried to order the fight but couldn’t because the demand shut down the PPV providers, he might be close to that huge number.

Triple H recently sat down with ESPN’s First Take where he discussed how WWE’s culture and influence might have had more to do with the big fight than some realize.

“I think from a promotional standpoint they did a lot of things right. They found two personalities and that’s really what this is all about. Floyd will be the first guy to tell you that it’s personalities that sells fights, it’s what he does, he changed himself from ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ to ‘Money Mayweather’ and that was based around WWE and the culture of changing Hulk Hogan to ‘Hollywood Hulk Hogan,’ and reinventing yourself. He invented that persona. McGregor created a persona, a lot of it having to do around what, kind of, WWE does and also what Mayweather does.

“When you have personalities like that and you put them in a ring with that type of conflict – it’s what we do no a daily basis. But they did it very well. It was a moment in time that I don’t think you can replicate. The great things is, I think what people where afraid of was that it wouldn’t deliver. I think it did deliver. I think people got an entertaining 10 round fight, it ended up where the educated person would imagine that it’d end up, but I think it was entertaining and it delivered on a lot of levels.”

Credit for quotes goes to ESPN’s First Take and Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.